Art History

Structuralism and Semiotics in Advertising

Modern culture in the 20th century characteristically subsists to techniques of structuralism and semiotics, which introduces a new scientific rigor to art criticism. This is because both fields of study provide systematic and detailed analyses of images and texts. Structuralism and semiotics also borrows from various disciplines, such as linguistics, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, and other social sciences in the analysis of these images and texts.

Structuralism is the study of various code functions within a single structure, which may be in different forms. Through this discipline of image and text analysis, structuralists can scientifically, i.e., objectively create concepts or ideas embedded within the unit of analysis. Semiotics, on the other hand, is the study of symbols, representation, and signs. Thus, both are essential in the study of codes (which can be words, images, sounds, odors, and objects that are encountered through sensory experience)...
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